The Mech Touch

Whether Maikel or Zanthar achieved success largely depended on their own efforts as well as a bit of luck.

The main variable was whether they would be able to develop spiritual potential. Ves still didn't understand how it came about, though he developed a couple of theories. He did not believe it was impossible for someone who was spiritually weak to break through this shackle. It was just that the requirements were so harsh that few people managed to bridge this gap.

Most leaders surrendered to these circumstances. It was impossible for them to even sense whether people possessed spiritual potential, so there was no way for them to pick and choose potential talents.

Ves was different. He met a lot of different people over the course of his career. No one was able to match his exceptional spiritual perception. Even Master Willix was like a child in front of him when it came to this area!

The only exceptions were those who possessed some relation to the Five Scrolls Compact. Both his mother and that weird freak Tektak from the frontier both showed that Ves was not unique.

"I can't expose what I can do. Who knows whether people will lump me in the same group as those insane cultists." He muttered.

Despite possessing some of their heritage, Ves was nothing alike those crazies! He was an orthodox mech designer who purely dedicated himself towards mechs!

After reflecting himself, he turned back to what he needed to do before he reunited with Gloriana.

"Time is running out. I need to work on my wedding rings."

This was a project he had been stalling for quite some time because he wasn't sure how to approach it. He collected a lot of interesting materials from the pirates he defeated. Some of them weren't safe to touch, but there were plenty of materials that he could use. Each of them came with interesting effects that might or might not be helpful.

"If I just want to make some pretty rings, then I don't need to think that much."

The problem was that he knew that Gloriana wouldn't settle for that. She was just as knowledgeable of materials as him. If she saw that he misused high-grade exotics just to make something pretty, she would chew his head off! To her, a precious material must be used well.

"What do you think, Lucky? What kind of ring does Gloriana like to wear?"

Lucky idly swished his tail.

"Meow."

"What?"

"Meow meow?"

"That's a stupid idea. No offense, Lucky, but using a cat theme for our wedding rings is a little overboard. People wear those rings for fun, not represent their bond with someone."

"Meow!"

What could Ves expect from a cat? It seemed he needed to fall about on his own ideas, then. He activated his desk terminal and summoned up over fifteen different sketches.

Over the past few months, he occasionally developed several interesting ideas. He noted them all down and stored them into his archive. Now that he was ready to make his rings, he pulled them all up again.

"Hmm.. they're all serviceable, but they are lacking in creativity."

He pulled out the blank black rings from his pocket. His mother had gifted to him a few years ago. According to her, the material the ring was made out of was not only a high-grade exotic, but also spiritually reactive!

Though he possessed them for some time, he was unable to decipher the exact effect. Ves probed them many times without obtaining any results. If his mother hadn't told him that the rings were special, he would have vented them in space a long time ago like any piece of trash!

"I can only trust her, I guess." He shrugged.

Now that he looked at them, the rings did look as if they were made out of a material similar to Unending alloy. Perhaps they were related to each other in some way.

Ves studied his ring designs and became unsatisfied with what he had devised. They did the job, but didn't earn any exceptional marks.

If he truly wanted to delight his future wife, he had to do better.

"Let's approach this from a different angle. Instead of starting with the appearance, maybe I should consider its function first."

Aside from the effect inherent in the base of the rings, Ves intended to add at least another function. This largely depended on the material he chose to plate the ring.

For example, if he opted to use B-stone, then the ring became slightly more repellent towards spiritual phenomena.

"B-stone isn't a suitable material." Ves shook his head. "It's too breakable and too low-class to Gloriana's sensibilities. Perhaps keeping it too close to her might affect her work as well."

Ves had already settled on using Unending alloy. The material was not only incredibly hard, but also able to store spiritual energy.

Granted, the capacity of a ring made out of Unending alloy was rather small, but having some of it was better than nothing.

The main issue that held him back from making this choice was that his fleet did not possess the tools or production equipment to manipulate such insanely hard material.

He briefly turned to Lucky. His cat stared with a vigilant expression.

"Meow."

It was too impractical to use Lucky's teeth as precision tools. Ves wasn't confident he could shape Unending alloy into the precise shapes needed to plate his ring.

"Relax, Lucky. I don't need to rely on your teeth anymore. I'm sure I can ask Master Willix to borrow her tools."

When he visited the Ubiquitous Force, he spent some time in the lab. While Ves didn't recognize many of the machines, there were bound to be at least one that was capable of processing first-class materials.

It would be weird if something like that wasn't present aboard an MTA Master's ship!

The question was how Ves intended to employ the properties of Unending alloy.

Its insane resistance against damage merely made the ring more durable. While that was definitely good, he could do more.

Ves first contemplated stuffing them with a pair of small design spirits.

"No. That's just wrong."

The rings didn't possess much capacity, which meant that they would basically be tiny cages. Any life that Ves stuffed inside would quickly run out of room to grow. Staying in the rings would become increasingly more uncomfortable.

He settled for spiritual constructs instead. Even if he made them alive, he was confident that he could restrict their growth so that they wouldn't strain against their boundaries.

Since spiritual constructs were more machines than living entities, Ves had many options.

"What kind of spiritual construct is both helpful and comes with a small footprint?"

If Ves just wanted to empower Gloriana in some way, then he didn't have to limit himself to rings. He could just create a medallion instead.

"It has to be related to our relationship somehow." He whispered.

The rings needed to be special. They were symbols of love, not tools.

What if.. he could impart Gloriana with a small portion of his specialty?

Ves recalled how Master Willix failed many times in replicating his design philosophy. No matter how close she got, each of her designs were similar to clones. They resembled his work, but were devoid of actual life.

He knew that Gloriana was no better in this regard. She tried many times to accomplish what he could do, but her spiritual attributes didn't contain any life.

To be honest, Ves thought that it might be different. Some time ago, he had deposited his spiritual fragment in her mind. He hoped that Gloriana might be able to draw on its power, but other than keeping her warm and fuzzy, it didn't really do anything.

"Maybe I can change that!"

His eyes lit up as an idea came to mind.

He wanted to pair the ring with the spiritual fragment. Doing this solved the capacity problem, as the latter was considerably more powerful than anything that he could stuff inside the ring.

Ves began to draft another sketch. This time, he wanted to make two spiritual constructs.

The main one pertained to his spiritual fragment. He wanted to mold it into a form that allowed Gloriana to borrow from its traits.

Of course, he didn't want to make himself redundant by granting her the same capabilities as his own. He just wanted to make life a bit easier for her by allowing her to borrow some of his life attributes.

Due to the limited strength of his spiritual fragment, its domain was very weak. Gloriana wouldn't be able to do much with it except infuse her designs with a little life. Yet this should already be sufficient enough to keep her happy!

The problem was channeling it. Gloriana lacked the sensitivity and control needed to manipulate it. That was where her ring came in. By implanting it with a simple control mechanism, she would be able to transmit commands to his spiritual fragment that was trapped in her mind.

"The wedding ring controls the remote domain fragment. It's useless in someone else's hands."

While the ring itself wouldn't be impressive by itself, it would serve as the key to accessing some of his abilities.

Ves had to extend a lot of trust to Gloriana if he wanted to go through with this idea. However, he knew that Gloriana wanted this for a very long time. Ever since she forcibly shifted her design philosophy to take spiritual components into account, she had become incredibly dependent on him to design what she considered to be a proper mech.

Giving her the ability to infuse some life in her solo designs meant that she still had options even if Ves wasn't there to help.

"This is especially useful in design competitions where mech designers are often forced to work by themselves." He considered.

Not only that, but gaining better control over her remote domain fragment might also improve their collaborative work. Ves might be able to connect with her better if she became more attuned to his design philosophy. He expected their synergy to increase as a response, which would translate into higher-performing mech designs!

Of course, as Ves intended to make a pair of rings, he didn't want to be left out either. As long as he carved a spiritual fragment from her mind and implanted it in his head, he might be able to borrow from her domain as well!

His face grew a little difficult. "Do I even want to do that?"

To be honest, it didn't sound as appealing to him. While Gloriana adored his specialty, Ves was a lot more lukewarm towards her own abilities.

Certainly, it would help if he could borrow her ability to spot flaws and gain a better sense on how to polish his designs. Yet if these benefits came paired with her obsession for perfection and her inability to tolerate sloppy work, then it might be better if he left this option aside!

"I can't do that, though." He shook his head. "The rings have to be similar. If I design asymmetrical rings with different capabilities, Gloriana will probably explode!"

He wasn't too worried, though. He was confident he could keep her remote domain fragment contained if he didn't want to make use of it. To be honest, he didn't need to instill his ring with a control interface, but it would make it a bit more convenient if he did. Besides, there might be some benefits if his own ring mirrored that of his beloved.

"There's one more element to consider."

Ves pulled out the pair of Unstable Chaos Essence gems that Lucky produced some time ago. He had his eye on them for quite some time, and it wasn't just because they looked pretty.

Though their names sounded dangerous, Ves read something different in them. Chaos may be dangerous in most people's hands, but he was different.

"Some people thrive in chaos…"